Crypto

Crypto-Friendly Bill Passes House—As Trump Courts Industry Amid Biden’s Crackdown

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2024

Crypto-Friendly Bill Passes House—As Trump Courts Industry Amid Biden’s Crackdown

Topline

The House passed legislation Wednesday evening that would give oversight authority over most forms of cryptocurrency to a more industry-friendly agency—potentially putting President Joe Biden in the difficult position of deciding whether to go against his own SEC chairman and refuse a veto as former President Donald Trump courts the industry in his 2024 presidential campaign.

The White House said Wednesday it “opposes” the legislation, but stopped short of saying President … [+] Joe Biden would veto the bill.

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Key Facts

The House voted 279-136 to pass the “Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act,” with 71 Democrats and 208 Republicans voting in favor of the legislation.

The legislation would put most forms of cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, under the regulatory purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by classifying them as commodities, rather than securities that would fall under the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has executed a crackdown on the industry under Biden.

Lawmakers who supported the bill touted it as a way to clarify regulatory authority for digital assets, with digital assets subcommittee chair Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., calling it perhaps “the most substantial piece of digital asset legislation in Congress’s history,” he told Forbes previously, noting Trump supports the bill.

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Chief Critic

The SEC’s crypto crackdown, which includes a series of charges against companies and individuals it accuses of violating federal regulations, has become a new attack line for Trump against Biden as the former president courts crypto backers, telling them at a Mar-A-Lago dinner earlier this month they “better vote” for him, Politico reported. SEC Chair Gary Gensler opposed the House legislation, arguing Wednesday it would allow crypto issuers to “self-certify” that they are issuing crypto as a commodity rather than a security, giving the SEC a limited 60-day window to review the classification.

Crucial Quote

“The self-certification process contemplated by the bill risks investor protection not just in the crypto space; it could undermine the broader $100 trillion capital markets by providing a path for those trying to escape robust disclosures, prohibitions preventing the loss and theft of customer funds, enforcement by the SEC, and private rights of action for investors in the federal courts,” Gensler said Wednesday.

Tangent

Trump’s campaign began accepting crypto donations Tuesday, urging his supporters in making the announcement to “build a crypto army.”

What We Don’t Know

Whether the Democratic-controlled Senate will pass the legislation. Eight House Democrats who backed the bill urged their Senate colleagues to support it in a memo Tuesday, CoinDesk reported. In a potential bellwether for the House bill, 11 Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voted alongside Republicans earlier this month to undo crypto SEC regulations, splitting with Biden, who said he’ll veto the bill, which also passed the House with bipartisan support.

Key Background

Trump has embraced crypto after criticizing the industry during his time as president, tweeting in 2019 that he’s “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.” He has since launched a line of NFT “trading cards” featuring his likeness and his $7 billion net worth is comprised of about $3 million in digital assets, according to a March Forbes estimate. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has taken a measured approach to crypto, acknowledging its explosive growth and the need for the U.S. to “maintain technological leadership in this rapidly growing space,” while also warning it “has substantial implications for consumer protection, financial stability, national security, and climate risk,” the White House wrote in a 2022 executive order.

Ethereum ETFs imminent after amended S-1s (Cryptocurrency:ETH-USD)

Published

5 hours ago

June 22, 2024

Press Room

Ethereum ETFs imminent after amended S-1s (Cryptocurrency:ETH-USD)

Liliya Filakhtova

Seven financial firms eyeing exchange-traded funds linked to Ethereum (ETH-USD) amended their S-1 filing on Friday, raising expectations of an imminent launch of the first set of ETFs tied to the second-largest cryptocurrency.

According to the industry publication CryptoSlate, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, BlackRock (BLK), 21Shares, Grayscale, and Fidelity filed updated S-1 documents for their respective funds, while Bitwise did not amend its registration statement.

Among the eight prospective issuers, Franklin Templeton and VanEck announced their ETF fees at 0.19% and 0.20%, respectively.

The filings mark a key step in launching the products after the SEC cleared Ethereum (ETH-USD) ETFs in May in response to applications from firms including Nasdaq (NDAQ), Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) NYSE, and Cboe Global Markets (CBOE).

With the amended filings complete, crypto investors will eagerly wait for a potential final approval from the SEC to clear the launch, which, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, could be as early as July 2. “Anyway, that’s basically a wrap. Ball in SEC’s court now,” he wrote on X.

Crypto

Attorney General warns of cryptocurrency scams at event in The Villages

Published

12 hours ago

June 22, 2024

Press Room

Attorney General warns of cryptocurrency scams at event in The Villages

Attorney General Ashley Moody

This week, we hosted a Cryptocurrency Scams Symposium in The Villages and recognized the top Seniors vs. Crime volunteers.

Florida is proud to be home to more than 5.5 million seniors. Unfortunately, there are bad actors who try to prey on older Floridians. Our Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit presented to seniors at the symposium about how to avoid falling victim to cryptocurrency scams.

Protecting Florida’s seniors is one of our top priorities, and we are also grateful for all our Senior Sleuth volunteers’ efforts on behalf of older Floridians.

Last year, Senior Sleuths assisted more than 9,100 Florida seniors, put in more than 11,200 hours of free services and recovered more than $2.6 million. Since 2019, Seniors vs. Crime is responsible for recovering more than $10.5 million.

At the end of the symposium, we named five Super Senior Sleuths, one from each region of Florida for their outstanding work for their fellow seniors.

We also recognized our Senior Sleuth Advocate of the Year, John McLaughlin. Logging more than 10 years as a Seniors vs. Crime volunteer, John uses his background as a law enforcement officer to assist seniors and solve high-value cases.

By assisting those who have been taken advantage of and teaching seniors how to protect themselves from scams and exploitation, we are continuing to build a Stronger, Safer Florida.

Ashley Moody is attorney general of Florida.

Crypto

Electrocoin launches new cryptocurrency exchange platform, Electrocoin Trade

Published

19 hours ago

June 22, 2024

Press Room

Electrocoin launches new cryptocurrency exchange platform, Electrocoin Trade

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

Croatia’s top crypto exchange, Electrocoin, launches Electrocoin Trade, a crypto exchange platform for EU clients.

One of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange services in Croatia, Electrocoin, has recently launched their new cryptocurrency exchange platform called Electrocoin Trade, providing services for natural and legal clients in the EU.

The platform includes two core services – cryptocurrency exchange and trading service without prior registration to the platform, and cryptocurrency exchange and trading service for registered users. This way, and following the recent regulatory development in the area of crypto regulation, Electrocoin introduced the new custodial model to their service, allowing them to act as a custodian for the assets clients chose to hold on their Electrocoin Trade accounts. By registering with Electrocoin Trade, users get to entrust their cryptocurrencies for safekeeping to a highly regulated platform, as they also get access to additional trading and user experience benefits such as lower trading fees and cryptocurrency portfolio monitoring.

Regardless of the new service, Electrocoin decided to keep the old service as well – any adult citizen in the EU can buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies up to 1000 euros without verification or prior registration on the platform. This way, Electrocoin wanted to ensure their existing and future users had an option where they could still access crypto even if they would rather not register with the new platform. This service is possible due to regulatory approval for KYC-less money exchange under certain thresholds.

The platform supports cross-chain transfers and coin-to-coin swaps through a variety of protocols, including ERC-20, Polygon, BEP-20, and many more. Furthermore, with the release of the new platform, Electrocoin has also introduced one new service – paying bills with cryptocurrencies. Users of the platform can use their cryptocurrencies to settle any invoice that can be paid by bank transfer within the EU/SEPA zone. That being said, utility bills such as electricity, water, or internet, or even personal expenses such as vehicles or even real estate, can be paid with cryptocurrencies – as long as the payment recipient has a bank account number.

Electrocoin was founded back in 2014 and has since become an industry leader, introducing PayCek, a crypto payment processor, in 2018. and now the new cryptocurrency exchange platform. The company is committed to communication with the regulator and today, they count over 250,000 successful transactions, along with 24/7 available customer support with an average chat response time of one minute. Electrocoin Trade positions itself as a competitor to other top-tier European cryptocurrency exchanges, with the feature enabling the cryptocurrency exchange without prior identification specifically standing out.

To get started, visit the Electrocoin Trade website.

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